Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morissette was born on June 1, 1974, in Ottawa, Ontario. She began piano at age of six and wrote her first song at age nine. Alanis Morissette's 1995 release Jagged Little Pill sold more than 25 million copies around the world and won her four Grammy Awards. Its slew of hit singles, kicked off with the vituperative "You Oughta Know," made Morissette an alternative music star overnight. "Hand in My Pocket," "All I Really Want," "You Learn," "Ironic," and "All I Really Want" -- kept the album in the Top Ten for an astounding 69 weeks, and Alanis Morissette was nominated for six Grammys in early 1996. She won several of those awards, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year.

I began listening to Alanis at the early age of eleven, my best friend intorduced me to her. At the age of eleven I had no clue what she was singing about, I just absolutely loved her voice and that she played the harmonica. I borrowed my friends tape and began listening to it at home. Big mistake, as soon as my mom heard what I was listening to, she immediately confiscated it from me, listened to it for herself, and then demanded I return it to its rightful owner. Apparently it wasn't appropriate for me to be listening to, my parents were very strict about what music I could listen to as a kid. My mom ended up liking Alanis so much she went out and bought her tape, which I thought was totally unfair.

As I got older and more mature, I bought her CD, and realized music is way better when you understand what the artist is singing about. Alanis puts all of her emotion behind her songs, which is why I enjoy listening to her so much. She has an amazing voice and talent. When I'm having a bad day I pop in my Alanis CD, Jagged Little Pill, crank it up, and sing as loud as I can. Her music can always put me into at least a better mood, if not great mood.

Kris Kross

Kris Kross was an American rap duo from the 1990s. Kriss Kross was one of my very first cassette tapes, I loved them! They had the silliest names Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith, cracks me up so original. I became fascinated by them because of their music mostly but also because of their unique fashion style, they wore their clothes backwards, how odd I found this as a little girl. I thought it was so cool I actually wore my clothes backwards one day to school, I learned its very hard to go to the bathroom when your pants are on backwards.

Most people know Kris Kross by their hit 1992 song "Jump", it was number one on the Billboard hot 100 for eitght weeks and was certified double platinum as a single. My favorite song by them was "I Missed the Bus", haven't heard this song in a long time. It is definitely old school rap, love it!

Kris Kross brings back so many memories for me as a kid. It is actually a big surprise my mom even let me listen to them, she was very strict on what I could listen to, at least when it came to rap. The thing about Kris Kross is they did sing rap but it was clean, no swear words, which in today's world it is hard to find a rap song with no cuss words in it. The memory that sticks out the most in my mind was meeting my best friend, she too loved Kris Kross, together we wore out clothes backwards to school and jumped around a lot. Kris Kross will always have a special place in my heart, it brought together a friendship that will last forever, and I have much respect for them for being ok with not using swear words in their music.

Wonderful Tonight

Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton is one of my all time favorite songs. Doesn't matter what kind of mood I'm in, if I hear this song it instantly puts me in a good mood. It is just an all around relaxing, easy to listen to, elegant song. I always request this song at wedding receptions, even if there is no one to dance with, that is how much I enjoy listening to it. This song would make any girl feel beautiful and good about themselves. The music in this song is amazing, especially the guitar.

My little brother is so sweet and thoughtful, he has this song on his I-pod and he always plays it for me whenever we are together. When I was going through my break-up he posted the video on my facebook, just because he knew it would make me smile. It is the little things in life that mean the most to me. He took time out of his day to make sure I was smiling. The last time I heard this song was at my cousin's wedding reception, I requested it of course. Although I didn't have a date for her wedding, I enjoyed a slow dance with my dad, which was priceless.

The song itself is basically about a husband and wife getting ready for a party, the wife is taking forever to get ready, she is obviously conscious about her looks. So when she asks him "do I look alright?" he replies by saying "yes you look wonderful tonight." He pretty much thinks his wife as beautiful and the need for make-up and all the primping is unneccesary. "We go to the party, and everyone turns to see, this beautiful lady, that's walking around with me." He is proud to be seen walking around with this beautiful lady and happy that it is his wife. I wish the world and marriages were all like this, it would make the world a better place. I hope one day I will find the guy to tell me I look wonderful tonight.

God Gave Me You

God Gave Me You is a beautiful song by Blake Shelton. When I hear this song it makes me think of my parents marriage and marriages that have lasted through the ups and downs. My parents have been married for 28 years; I have so much respect for them for staying strong through the ups and downs no matter what. It makes me know that it is possible to find your true love. Look at how happy and in love they still are, makes me so proud!

 Marriage is all about being there for the one you married, Blake's lyrics "You stay here right beside me and watch as the storm blows through" says it all. When you marry someone you take vows to be there no matter what, through any storm, in sickness and in health. To me those are very sacred words and need to be practiced in all marriages. In my opinion marriage isn't taken seriously by some, for example Kim Kardashian and her husband, getting a divorce already, they were together for two seconds and got married, they didn't even know each other. I guess I am kind of old school when it comes to marriage, you do it once! When you get married to the person you love, you become one, "on my own I am only half of what I could be I can't do without you we are stitched together", and still separate people but love binds the two people together into one. My favorite line in the song is "you will always be love's great martyr", how beautiful those words are.

Sure love is very hard work and to keep it strong, you have to be strong and willing to fight through all the ups and downs, because with life there are many. "God gave me you for the ups and downs; God gave me you through the days of doubt". My parents are the perfect example of how a marriage should be, of course they have their ups and downs but that's why God gave them each other. I would like to dedicate this song to my parents, and say how proud I am to be there daughter, thanks for proving that true love does exist.